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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Bipartisan Fusion Energy Act pushes for regulatory clarity
Padilla
Sen. Alex Padilla (D., Calif.) introduced the Fusion Energy Act (S. 4151) last month with a bipartisan group of cosponsors—John Cornyn (R., Texas), Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Todd Young (R., Ind.), and Patty Murray (D., Wash.). The legislation would codify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s regulatory authority over commercial fusion energy systems to streamline the creation of clear federal regulations that will support the development of commercial fusion power plants—and would require a report within one year on a study of risk- and performance-based, design-specific licensing frameworks for “mass-manufactured fusion machines.
“Congress must do everything in its power to ensure continued U.S. leadership in developing commercial fusion energy facilities,” said Padilla as he introduced the bill. “The Fusion Energy Act would provide regulatory certainty for investors as the NRC develops and streamlines frameworks for such facilities.”
Mark J. Embrechts, D. J. Dudziak, W. T. Urban
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 1195-1200
Neutronics and Shielding | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A23021
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses compliment the information obtained from a transport code by providing a reasonable estimate for the uncertainty of a particular design parameter and a better understanding of the nucleonics involved. The toroidal geometry of many fusion devices motivates a two-dimensional calculation capability. A two-dimensional cross-section and secondary energy distribution (SED) sensitivity and uncertainty analysis code, SENSIT-2D, has been developed that allows modeling of a toroidal geometry. Two-dimensional and one-dimensional sensitivity analyses for the heating and the copper d.p.a. of the TF coil for a conceptual FED blanket/shield design were performed. The uncertainties from the two-dimensional analysis are of the same order of magnitude as those obtained from the one-dimensional study. The largest uncertainties were caused by the cross-section covariances for chromium.